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Sponsorship works!

Adidas has posted £1.6bn in global sales of football shirts, shoes and balls largely as a result of the exposure delivered by its sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014.

The company says it’s “definitely” on track to break trading records this year having registered strong sales figures pre and during the current World Cup. Adidas has been gradually building demand for its shirts, boots and balls since last November to try and ease the pressure on its retail network during the tournament trading period.

As a sponsor of nine national teams, Adidas has sold more than 8m shirts, a significant increase on the 6.5m shirt sales it achieved for the 2010 World Cup. The German jersey is the best seller with record sales of more than 2m with more than half a million of these sold outside of Europe.

Further bestsellers are the Argentina, Mexico, Spain and Colombia jerseys, with sales of one million units or more each. Additionally, Adidas expects to shift more than 14m Brazucas – the official match ball of the tournament.

The company also hailed the “sustained” impact the tournament had on sales in Latin America, a region the brand has been trying to position as a primary growth engine. Sales in the area have jumped from £143m to £1.262bn over the last ten years.

Herbert Hainer, CEO of Adidas says the early results underline the company’s “outstanding position as the clear number one” in football globally. The success of “our marketing campaign in social media worldwide is clear proof that Adidas is and will remain the leading football brand”, he claimed.